Weekly Recap – April 20, 2013

Hobo Stu

Hello everyone,

Today is 4/20, so we all know what that means … it’s my birthday!

Of course, Ned Bitters and his friends seem to think today has some other significance as well, though they won’t tell me what it is. Every time I ask Ned, he just giggles and then launches into a rant about why Bob Dylan’s music sucks. He did offer me some special birthday brownies though, so I can’t be too upset with him. Even though he won’t tell me what makes the brownies “special” or why they taste so funny or why I ended up watching cartoons for six hours after eating one.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who have already wished me a happy birthday. The rest of the HoboTrashcan gang are getting ready to come by my office with an ice cream cake, which is awesome … especially since I’ve been starving ever since I ate that brownie.

Here’s what’s new on HoboTrashcan.com this week:

Doctor Who – “Cold War”: Hungry like the wolf
While trapped aboard a Russian submarine armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, The Doctor and Clara square off against a thawed out Ice Warrior in the aptly-named “Cold War” this week. It’s a fairly standard “Monster of the Week” episode – with no hints at Clara’s past or any implications for the season’s overarcing storyline. Joel Murphy breaks down all of the action and shares his thoughts on the standalone episode in this week’s review.

Review – Oblivion
After the utter train wreck that was Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise is back playing another bad ass hero named Jack in Oblivion. This time Cruise finds himself mining the last remaining resources from a post-apocalyptic Earth where things are not quite what they seem. Find out if this Jack is any more entertaining than Cruise’s last on-screen role (which, let’s be honest, it could hardly be any worse – especially with Morgan Freeman in the cast) in our in-depth review.

Murphy’s Law – The triumph of Cuddles McGee
The past few days have been trying ones for us all as we are inundated with horrific images and stories from Boston. We are all struggling to make sense of it all and to find a way to go on with our daily routines. So with that in mind, Joel Murphy takes a break from his normal pop culture rants to offer a gentle palate cleanser – the story of Cuddles McGee, an adorable little pug who has an eventful day at the dog park (which features a fantastic illustration by artist Jane Wynn).

Positive Cynicism – Go away, go away, go away Dixieland
Last week, Brad Paisley grabbed headlines with his LL Cool J endorsed new song “Accidental Racist,” which features lyrics like: “I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland / Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be / I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done / And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history.” Like many people, Aaron R. Davis was not a fan of “Accidental Racist.” He explains why he thinks the song is so far off the mark in this week’s column.

Hobo Radio Puppet Theatre Presents: Explaining Paleontology
Have you ever wondered how paleontologists are able to accurately reconstruct and visually recreate dinosaurs? In this week’s Hobo Radio Puppet Theatre, Puppet Joel and Puppet Lars explain how paleontology really works by explaining how the next species to overtake Earth once we are all extinct will depict us in their museums. The audio for this week’s Hobo Radio Puppet Theatre comes from Hobo Radio 241 – The Bone Wars.

Hobo Radio 252 – The secret life of a comedian
While the life of a rock star is a glorious one, the life of a comedian isn’t quite as grand. Even famous comedians at the top of their game are still forced to spend their tours driving around in cramped rental cars in small towns playing tiny, smoky clubs. It’s a stressful and solitary existence at times. Joel Murphy and Lars talk about the lives of comedians on this week’s show. They also talk about one comedian in particular – Patton Oswalt – who is having an incredibly noteworthy week. They also discuss accents, David Lynch movies and a variety of nerdy topics.

And finally, in case you missed it on our Facebook page, here’s a bonus video of Patton Oswalt’s uncut filibuster speech from this week’s Parks and Recreation (which was discussed on this week’s Hobo Radio podcast) …

– Hobo Stu

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